Dispensers for bags

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for dispensing individual pre-formed bags from a stack of such bags, the dispenser comprising a base, a body part, a stack support member attached to the body part and stack retention means attached to the stack support member. In one embodiment, the stack support member may comprise a planar region inclined upwards from back to front with respect to the base, wherein the arrangement is such that, in use, the stack of bags are engaged by the stack retention means in such a manner that the handles of the bags are supported by the planar region of the stack support means and a portion of the bags in the region of the mouth of the bags is disposed on a front edge of the stack support member with the body of the bags depending therefrom, such that a first bag of the stack may conveniently be grasped by a user to remove a single bag in a partially open condition from the stack.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is claims priority of United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0302334.8, filed Feb. 1, 2003, and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 0325563.5, filed Nov. 1, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to dispensers for dispensing individual pre-formed bags from a stack of such bags.

Dispensers of this type are commonly provided in retail outlets, particularly supermarkets, to dispense pre-formed bags (e.g. plastic bags). It is desirable that when a bag is taken from the dispenser it should at least partially open, facilitating filling of the bag.

GB-A-2334944 describes such a dispenser, which comprises a body part and an anchor means for the stack disposed on the body part, the anchor means comprising catch means for engaging a stack of pre-formed bags whereby the stack depends from the catch means for being grasped for removal, a stack restraining means comprising an elongate member associated with the dispenser and movable (e.g. pivotably) between a first position in which a first portion of the elongate member bears against the stack to restrain the same and a second position in which the elongate member is deflected from its first position against the action of a restoring force to permit one side of a first bag of the stack to be drawn past the stack restraining means to open the said first bag for loading prior to removal from the dispenser, characterised in that the first portion of the elongate member is maintained at a fixed angle with respect to a second portion of the elongate member whereby the first portion of the elongate member is directed preferentially towards the stack to restrain the same.

The particular dispensers described in GB-A-2334944 function satisfactorily, but have the drawback that at least one region of adhesion (e.g. a glue spot) is required between each adjacent pair of bags in the stack. This increases the manufacturing cost of the stack. Moreover, the dispenser allows users to grasp and pull the lower ends of the stack, which may result in the inadvertent removal of more than one bag, and unsatisfactory opening of the bag upon removal.

WO 02/32274 discloses a dispenser comprising a base and a substantially upright wall over which a bag stack is folded. A first portion of the bag stack containing the base end of the bags is disposed on and supported by one part of the wall and a second portion of the bag stack containing the mouth end is disposed on and supported by another part of the wall. The two bag portions are separated by the wall in a direction transverse to the fold and depend downwardly towards the base of the dispenser. A rear face of the wall has a retention hook that is received in aligned apertures in retention tabs of the bags.

It is the object of the present invention to alleviate the problems of the prior art dispensers or at least to offer an alternative them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a dispenser for dispensing individual pre-formed bags from a stack of such bags, the dispenser comprising a base, a body part, a stack support member attached to the body part and stack retention means attached to the stack support member, the stack support member comprising a planar region inclined upwards from back to front with respect to the base, wherein the arrangement is such that, in use, the stack of bags are engaged by the stack retention means in such a manner that the handles of the bags are supported by the planar region of the stack support means and a portion of the bags in the region of the mouth of the bags is disposed on a front edge of the stack support member with the body of the bags depending therefrom, such that a first bag of the stack may conveniently be grasped by a user to remove a single bag in a partially open condition from the stack.

This arrangement has been shown to be surprisingly effective in dispensing a single bag, in an open condition, from a stack of bags. The arrangement of the planar region is such that a user is presented with a curved surface at the mouth of the bags. This encourages the user to pull the top bag of the stack in such a manner that the front wall of the bag slides over the back wall of the bag thus opening the bag as it is removed from the dispenser. Rather than pinching the bag between thumb and forefinger or pulling the bag from the bottom, as is required by other dispensers, the user is presented with the stack of bags with the mouth region located folded over the front edge of the stack support member.

It is particularly preferred that the stack support member is provided with an arcuate lip at the front edge thereof. This arrangement favours a sliding action to remove a bag from the stack as the fingers are placed towards the top of the arcuate lip and brought down and around, following the contours of the lip, such that the front wall of the bag slides over the back wall.

It is preferred that the body part comprises a post extending from the base to the underside of the stack support member. Such a configuration allows a major portion of the stack of bags to hang free, unsupported by a surface of the dispenser.

Alternatively, the body part may suitably comprise two parallel side walls extending upwardly from the base with the support member located therebetween. This provides a stable base for the dispenser.

The side walls are preferably inclined with respect to the base by from about 45° to about 90°. This feature, forces the body of the bags to lie at an angle of from about 45° to about 90° with respect to the base. This results in the arcuate lip becoming more prominent which improves the working of the dispenser.

It is particularly preferred that the bags are of the type having a protruding tab in the region of the mouth. It is preferred that the tabs of adjacent bags are connected, either by adhesive or by some other means, such as corona discharge treatment. The adhesive may suitably be in the form of a conventional glue spot in the region of the mouth. As the top back of the stack is removed the protruding tab of the adjacent bag will be pulled forward thus providing a point on the next bag to be grasped by the user. The configuration of the dispenser encourages the bags to ride up and the tab to fall evenly as the top bag is removed.

It is preferred that the planar region is inclined with respect to the base by from about 10° to about 80°, more preferably from about 30° to about 50° and most preferably by approximately 45°. This is the optimum angle which presents the bags to the user in the most effective manner.

The retention means is preferably located towards the rear of the planar region, displaced from the arcuate lip by approximately the length of the handle portion of a conventional stack of bags.

The retention means suitably comprises at least one hooked member for engaging a portion of the stack of bags and more preferably the retention means comprises two hooked members.

The hooked member(s) are preferably arranged to engage with a block header extending between the handle portions of the stack of bags. “Block header” is a term of the art and will be understood to refer to a portion of bag material extending between the free ends of the handles of the stack of bags.

Alternatively, the retention means may comprise at least one elongate support member adapted to pass through at least one support member receiving aperture of the stack and more preferably, the retention means may comprise two elongate support members. This provides the additional advantage that the dispenser may be used with bags which leave no plastic residue on the dispenser as they are removed. This is an important point from an environmental point of view and it also improves the aesthetic appeal of the dispenser and reduces the time for loading a new stack of bags onto the stack.

The dispenser preferably further comprises a front wall provided extending upwardly from the base such that the base portion of the stack of bags hangs down below the level of the front wall. This arrangement further encourages the user to grasp the top bag of the stack in the correct manner. This is achieved by blocking off the base portions of the stack of bags. Typically, the front wall is between from about 25% to about 50% of the length of the bags. In addition, the front wall improves the aesthetic appeal of the dispenser.

It is preferred that the body part of the dispenser comprises two parallel side walls extending upwardly from the base with the support member located therebetween. This provides a stable base for the dispenser.

The side walls are preferably inclined with respect to the base by from about 45° to about 90°. This feature, combined with the front wall forces the body of the bags to lie at an angle of from about 45° to about 90° with respect to the base. This results in the arcuate lip becoming more prominent which improves the working of the dispenser.

The dispenser is preferably formed from sheet metal but may suitably made from any sufficiently rigid material such as a rigid plastics material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings showing, solely by way of example, two embodiments of the present invention and, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first dispenser.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a second dispenser;

FIG. 3 shows a section view along line A-A of the dispenser of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 2 loaded with a stack of bags;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a third dispenser; and

FIG. 6 shows a close up perspective view of stack support member of the dispenser of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, there is shown a dispenser 2 for dispensing individual pre-formed bags from a stack of such bags, the dispenser comprising a base 4 in the form of a planar sheet, and a body part 6 extending therefrom. The dispenser 2 is of the type commonly provided in retail outlets and in particular is of the type designed to be mounted at the checkout of a supermarket. Consequently, the base 4 may be in the form of a planar sheet or it may be in the form of a mounting suitable for attaching the dispenser 2 to a surface.

The body part 6 is in the form of two parallel side walls 6 a, 6 b. The side walls 6 a, 6 b extend perpendicularly upwards from the base 4 and support a stack support member 8 therebetweeen. The stack support member 8 has a first region 10 and a second region 12. The first region 10 is planar and is inclined upwards, at approximately 45° with respect to the base 4, from the back of the dispenser 2 to the front. The second region 12 of the stack support member 8 is in the form of an arcuate lip which extends from the front edge of the first region 10 and curves arcuately downwards. Alternatively, the second region 12 may be omitted and the stack support member 8 may simply be in the form of a planar member inclined upwards from the back of the dispenser 2 to the front.

The stack support member 8 is provided with stack retention means 14 to retain a stack of bags in position on the dispenser 2. The stack retention means 14 is in the form of two hooked members 14 a, 14 b located on the first region 10 of the stack support member 8. A first portion of the hooked members 14 a, 14 b extends vertically from the stack support member, parallel to the side walls 6 a, 6 b, and a second portion is angled towards the rear of the dispenser 2. The stack retention means 14 bears against a portion of the stack, in use (see FIG. 4), to hold the stack in position on the dispenser 2. The hooked members 14 a, 14 b are relatively close together such that they can engage with the block header between the handles of the stack of bags.

Alternatively, the dispenser 2 may be provided with stack retention means 14 in the form of two elongate support members adapted to pass through corresponding support member receiving apertures of the stack of bags. Bags such as those described in GB-2349377-A (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) are particularly suitable for use with such a dispenser 2 since they have the added advantage of not leaving any excess bag material on the dispenser 2 after removal. The elongate support members may suitably be in the form of two prongs extending perpendicularly from the stack support member 8. The prongs are provided with surface projections in the manner of a threaded bolt.

The dispenser 2 comprises a front wall 16 extending upwardly from the base 4 adjacent to the front edge of the side walls 6 a, 6 b. The front wall 16 is approximately equal to about 25% of the length of the bags of the stack. In use the base portion of the stack of bags hangs down below the level of the front wall thus blocking access to the base portion of the stack. This encourages the user to grasp the top bag of the stack in the area proximate to the mouth.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 which show an alternative embodiment of a dispenser 2, in which the side walls 6 a, 6 b are inclined with respect to the base by about 60°. In addition, as can best be seen in FIG. 3, the stack retention means 14, which are in the form of hooked members, are not vertical but are angled with respect to the stack support member 8. This has the effect of allowing the bags of the stack to ride up in the region of the mouths with the result that they are more easily dispensed.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the dispenser of FIG. 2 loaded with a stack of bags 18. The bags 18 are of the type having a body portion 17 formed by front and rear walls having closed sides, a closed bottom and an open mouth. First and second side handles 20 extend away from the body portion 17 at opposite sides of the mouth and are connected along lines of weakness by a bridging web of a block header 21. Tabs 22 extend upwards from the mouth and are attached along lines of weakness to the block header. The stack retention means 14 extend through apertures 19 defined by the body portion 17, the handles 20, the block header 21 and the tabs 22 and bear against the block header. The handles 20 are supported by the stack support member 8 and the bags lie around the arcuate lip with the major portion of the bags being allowed to hang free. A portion of the bags in the region of the mouth is supported by the arcuate lip of the stack support member 8 in a manner such that the bag is presented for dispensing. In use, the tab 22 on the front side of the first bag in the stack protrudes forward for the user to grasp in order to remove an individual bag from the stack 18.

The base portion of the stack of bags is held behind the front wall 16 of the dispenser 2. This causes the main body of the stack to lie in approximately the same plane as the side walls 6 a, 6 b and results in the arcuate lip becoming more prominent which improves the function of the dispenser 2 since it encourages the user to take the bag from the top rather than the bottom as has been a problem with some prior art dispensers.

The action of loading a stack of bags onto a dispenser will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. The stack of bags are held such that the hooked members 14 a, 14 b extend through the region defined by the body, handles and block header of the stack. Next, the stack is brought forward until the hooked members 14 a, 14 b bear against the block header. After the stack is in place it is allowed to hang and the base portion of the stack of bags is tucked behind the front wall 16.

To remove a bag from the stack a user grasps the tab 22 of the top bag of the stack a pulls away from the dispenser 2. In the case where the bags are not of the type which have a tab 22 the arrangement of the arcuate lip favours a sliding action to remove an individual bag rather than a pinching action. The fingers are placed towards the top of the arcuate lip and brought down and around, following the contours of the lip. This causes front wall of the bag slides over the back wall and open the bag as it is removed. As the front wall of the bag comes away from the dispenser 2 the user is able to grasp the bag and separate it from the stack. There is no need for a glue spot between adjacent bags in the stack.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show perspective views of a further embodiment of a dispenser 2. The dispenser 2 comprises a base 4 which may be fixed at a suitable location, for example, at a supermarket checkout. The base 4 is provided with a first portion 5 and a second portion 7 which is at right angles to the first portion 5. This enables the base 4 to be fixed in position to an edge of a counter or work-top.

A body part 6 in the form of a post extends vertically upwards from the base 4 and is attached to the underside of stack support member 8. The stack support member 8 is generally the same as the stack support member 8 of the dispenser 2 shown in FIG. 1. The stack support member 8 comprises a first portion 10 inclined upwardly from back to front, with respect to the first portion 5 of the base 4, and a second portion 12 in the form of an arcuate lip which extends from the front edge of the first portion 10 and curves arcuately downwards. Stack retention means 14 are provided, in the form of two support prongs, towards the rear of the stack support member 8. Side walls 24 are provided along the side edges of the stack support member 8 to restrict access to the handles of the bags and encourage users to grasp an individual bag in the region of the arcuate lip. 

1. A dispenser for dispensing individual pre-formed bags from a stack of such bags, the dispenser comprising a base, a body part, a stack support member attached to the body part and stack retention means attached to the stack support member, the stack support member comprising a planar region inclined upwards from back to front with respect to the base, wherein the arrangement is such that, in use, the stack of bags are engaged by the stack retention means in such a manner that the handles of the bags are supported by the planar region of the stack support means and a portion of the bags in the region of the mouth of the bags is disposed on a front edge of the stack support member with the body of the bags depending therefrom, such that a first bag of the stack may conveniently be grasped by a user to remove a single bag in a partially open condition from the stack.
 2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein an arcuate lip is provided at the front edge of the planar region.
 3. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the body part comprises a post extending from the base to the underside of the stack support member.
 4. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the body part comprises two parallel side walls extending upwardly from the base with the support member located therebetween.
 5. A dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the side walls are inclined with respect to the base by from about 90° to about 45°.
 6. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the planar region is inclined with respect to the base by from about 10° to about 80°.
 7. A dispenser according to claim 6, wherein the planar region is inclined with respect to the base by from about 30° to about 50°.
 8. A dispenser according to claim 7, wherein the planar region is inclined with respect to the base by approximately 45°.
 9. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the retention means is located towards the rear of the planar region.
 10. A dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the retention means is displaced from the arcuate lip by approximately the length of the handle portion of a conventional stack of bags.
 11. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the retention means comprises at least one hooked member for engaging a portion of the stack of bags.
 12. A dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the retention means comprises two hooked members.
 13. A dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the or each hooked member is arranged to engage with a block header extending between the handle portions of the stack of bags.
 14. A dispenser according to any one of claims 1, wherein the retention means comprises at least one elongate support member adapted to pass through at least one support member receiving aperture of the stack.
 15. A dispenser according to claim 14, wherein the retention means comprises two elongate support members.
 16. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a front wall is provided extending upwardly from the base such that the base portion of the stack of bags hangs down below the level of the front wall.
 17. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the dispenser is formed from sheet metal. 